Ibercaja supports one more edition Ex+ magazine from the newspaper Extremaduraheader of Iberian Press, which highlights the most outstanding trajectories of 45 young people from Extremadura. The financial entity thus signs its commitment to the new generations, for which it has specific financial products. Fernando Planelles Carazo, Territorial Director of Extremadura and South of Ibercajaputs on the table the bank’s great commitment to young people from Extremadura.
Why does Ibercaja sponsor the Ex+ magazine delivered today by the Extremadura Newspaper?
For us, young people are a strategic and fundamental pillar in our financial activity. Everything that we can collaborate in this sense seems to us to be a good idea, because working for young people is working for our Extremadura from a social, training and business point of view. It is very necessary to support the youth. We have to make this enormous effort for the good of our land.
This year one of the Ex+ Youth is an Olympic gold medalist. Are our young people destroying myths?
Yes, and not only in sports: in all areas that we can imagine. Ibercaja is a benefactor of the Fundación Jovenes y Deporte, with which we collaborate very closely. Sport helps a lot in the comprehensive training of our young people, who are proving that in the field of sport they are also capable of shining and breaking records, as they are also in many other fields.
The publication also reveals that many of them have left the region in order to succeed. How do we retain the talent of our people from Extremadura in Extremadura?
It is a very big concern that we have. We are working so that this is not the case and retain the great talent of our land. We believe that a fundamental part of this is training. In this sense, we have developed a very powerful School of Leadership program with the Junta de Extremadura so that both the young people who have left and those who remain here can continue their training in skills, in competencies that are essential to develop their future as people and professionals. Ibercaja also has the Sponsorship Classroom, a program with the University of Extremadura through the CB Foundation. Its mission is aimed at promoting research on the cooperative sector. We also have a communication skills program. The field of entrepreneurship is another one that we promote through the CB Foundation so that young people can take their first professional steps in the region, both in private companies and creating their own. Avoiding the flight of talent from Extremadura is a very important concern for us.
What are the main financial products aimed at young people?
We have a strategic line, specific to them and very different from the rest. It is aimed at alleviating one of its problems: being able to become independent. Access to a mortgage loan is complicated in many cases because they have few savings. That is why we have a specific mortgage line for them. Ibercaja finances up to 95% of the mortgage for young customers under 36 years of age, a product that not all entities offer. With this we can contribute so that they can form families and homes, a basic need. We do not forget the rural area, where we have almost 100 service points, 65 of them in towns with less than 5,000 inhabitants. We also have a very important commitment to young farmers and ranchers with specific products so that they continue with their parents’ farms. In this way, we also face the depopulation of our towns.
Imagine that I am young and that I want to ask for a loan. What would be the main qualities that you would value to give it to me?
It is necessary to assess first if it is a loan to start a business or a professional activity. In this case, the feasibility of the project and how it will be structured must be assessed. If it is regarding the acquisition of a property, it is important to have a stable job.
Ibercaja finances up to 95% of the mortgage for young customers under 36 years of age. What characteristics does this initiative have?
In principle, it is necessary to have recurring income and a 5% savings. The amount of the average home in Extremadura is not very high and therefore the amount of savings required is not very high either. These advantages will be available in any of the two modalities of the ‘Vamos’ mortgage, both at a fixed rate and at a variable rate. Our professionals in any office advise on all the conditions of the mortgage loan and make a detailed study of each case so that the purchase of an apartment is not a burden for our young people.
Therefore, encourage young people to ask the Ibercaja experts if they have any questions…
It’s the main thing. We are aware of the new reality. We are a modern bank. Our mobile application is one of the best rated in the entire system. We have many ways to communicate digitally with our clients, although we believe that in certain cases the face-to-face advice of one of our professionals also adds value in those vital moments as important as buying a house, a car or requesting a loan to start a business.
